Parachute.



E. R. CALTHROP.

' PARAHuE. APPLICATION FILED MAR. 27. |917.

Patented. Apr. 23, 1918.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

FIG-3.

E. R. CALTHROP;

PARACHUTE.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 21. 1917.

Patented Apr. 23, 1918T 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

om fev mmm RICHARD Gennaio?, or LONDON, ENGLAND.

i PARACHUTE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application mea maren a7, 1917. serial No. 15u54'.

To all whom t may concern.'

' Be it known that I Evenmin RICHARD Canmor, a subject of the King ofGreat Brltain, residing at London, in the county of Middlesex, England,have invented new and useful Improvements Relating to Parachutes, ofwhich the following is a specification. y

My invention has reference to parachutes and parachute launchingdevices, of the kind in which the body ofthe parachute is norlso mallyretained in a compactly folded and plaited condition, and launched bythe application of the load in such a manner as to secure its positiveopening in all circum-l stances, such for example asis described. in thespeeication of my prior apphcation 'Serial No. 56635.

The objects of the resent invention are, to provide 'an improvedparachute and parachute launching device of the aforesaid klnd whichshall be rapidly and completely detached from the air craft when theload 1sl applied without the danger of any part becoming entangled,irrespective of the position in which the aircraft may be traveling ormoving, to insure that the-parachute body may rapidly entrap the maximumamount of air to com letely expand it and, generally, to improve t econstruction and operationof parachutes to the end of making themeiiicient and certain in operation.

In the accompanying drawings: l

Figure 1 represents 1n vertical section, and more or lessdiagrammatically, a arachute launching device embodyingothis invention.

Fig. 2 .is a series of dia am's designated' A, B, C, D and Eillustrating the successive stages of operation of the device and the expansion of the parachute when dropped from an aeroplane traveling atconsiderable speed.

Fig. 3 is a similar series of diagrams illustrating the operation of thedevice when or case 1, preferably of spun metal, adapted dropped from aballoon or similar aerial4 craft in still air.

In that embodiment illustrated Fig. 1

my improved device comprises a container to hold the parachute body 2which is compactly nested therein around a cage or, support 3,preferably of skeleton formation be-f mg for instance constructed ofwire or rods as shown. The cage 3 is attached to, 'and forms part of, amemberfor supporting the auxiliary parachute 4, sani` member beingadapted for detachable connection with the container 1. Said membercomprises an annular trough-shaped element 5 of s un metal, having anannular plate 6 positive y secured thereto, such as by riveting orotherwise, the platel 6 being connected by wire spokes 7 to an annularmember 8 on which the cage 31is fixed. Said plate 6 is provided with anupstanding iiange 9 carrying a plurality of spring iingers or pawls 10,the noses 11 -of .which are adapted to normally engage in recesses, orin av circumferential groove 12,

formed in the container 1.

The body of the main parachute 2 is coinpactly folded and plaited withinthe container 1 around the cage or support 3, and the ends of therigging-which is com osed of tapes 13 arranged in packs 14 as escribedPatented Apr.l-23, 1918o in m aforesaid prior speciication-aresecure tothe plates 6 as at 6 for example, and other tapes or the like13 connectthe plate 6 with the ring or center piece 15, to.

which a rope 16, forming part'of the main suspension, is attached. Theopposite end of the rope 16 is connectedl to a member 17,

to which is secured the rope A18, to` which the aviator it attached bymeans of a suitable harness fand, shock absorber. .The auxiliaryparachute 4 is provided with a central aperture at its apex, the annularedge ofsald aperture being firmly secured to Lthe.trougheshaped member5, and

the body o'flsa'id parachute 4 compactly folded or nested within saidmember v5, as will be clearly understood from an inspection of Fig. 1.Theta-pes 19 constituting also arranged in packs 20.

A lower, flexible, cover 210fv ap ropl'iate weather-proof material issecured to the member 17, and serves to close the bottom of thecontainer, and to inclose and protect the operative parts of the device,and an outer, iiexible, cover 22 is preferably arranged as shown to gripthe container 1, and to pro.

cover 21'meets the container 1.A

the rigging of the 'sma'll vparachute 4 are connected to the member 17,said tapes-beingl .vide a weather-proof joint where the lower In orderto hold the member 17 in normal position and prevent accidentaldisplace- .ment of thefparts of the device, I prefer to provide aneasily rupturable connection be'- tween said member vand the container 1and' this may of a light cord or the I willfnow proceed to describe theoperation of my' improved parachute launching device when used with anaeroplane traveling at`speed, for which purpose reference should be hadto the diagrams of Fig. 2.

' Diagram A illustrates the device carried upon an aeroplane at the rearof the pilots or passengers seat, thel container l. being attached tothe fuselage by a rope or the like, and the main suspension rope 18being attached to the passenger which, in the diagrams, is representedby the lWeight a.

ln case of emergency the passenger throws himself out of the aeroplane,and as the load is exerted on the main suspension rope 18 and member 17,the cover 21 will be rst stripped away from the container 1 and therigging 19 then extended, and as the weight is transferred through saidrigging to the periphery of the auxiliary parachute 4, this latter willemerge from the trough 5, the folds being successively brought over thelower edge of the said trough 5 thereby entrapping a column ofv air.'llhe positions of the parts at this moment are shown in diav gram B.

Now as the application of the load continues to be exertedon therope 16,this latter will become taut,`and the wholevveight will be exertedthroughl the center-piece 15 and tapes 13 on the plate 6, with theresult that this latter, together wlth member 5-to Y which the truncatedapex of the auxiliary parachute -is ,firmly securedwill i bedetached'from the container 1 owing to the spring pawls or lingers 10being disengaged by the pull of the load from the groove 12 in thecontainer 1 and at this moment, as illustrated in diagram C the mainparachute' 2 plaited and folde on the cage 3 will part from thecontainer 1, the mouth of said parachute 2 being over the centralaperture in the auxiliary parachute 4, so that the air collected andcompressed by this latter issues from said aperture in a strong blast-orcurrent, which is thus directed to the interior of the parachute 2-seediagram D-and .thisblast of air, in conjunction with the outside airwhich enters the mouth of the parachute 2 as it falls,'ca1 i1ses theparachute body to be rapidly and certainly expanded to its fullestextent, as illustrated in diagram E. v y l From numerousl experimentsconducted by me, l have demonstrated .that the various positions shownin Fig. 2 are the actual positions assumed by the parachute during.its,l

expansion when launched from an aeroplane traveling at speed, as theresultant air pressure exerted on the parachute causes 1t to assu-me anapproximately horizontal position when fully expanded, as in diagramA E,and that, thereafter it swings to and fro until it becomes vertical, andwill thus land itsload safely.Y

masacre The essential operation of the device when the parachute islaunched from a balloon in still air is illustrated in the dia ams ofFig.A 3, and is similar to that descri ed with reference to Fig. 2 withthe exception' that the parachute at once drops vertically, there being`no air current to cause it to swing.

he auxiliary parachute, in addition to fulfilling the functionshereinbefore referred to, also operates to minimize the swaying to andfro of the parachute and its passenger, and generally to steady thewhole device during its descent to the ground.-

1. A main parachute and an auxiliary lparachute both normally retainedin a compactlyl folded and plaited condition within or on a containerand adapted to be launched by the application of the load in such amanner that the auxiliary parachute is first expanded whereupon the mainparachute is launched in a plaited and folded condition and the airentrapped by the auxiliary parachute compressed and conducted to theinterior of said main parachute for the purpose specified. 'Y

2. A parachute launching device comprising a container for the mainparachute a support for an auxiliary parachute having spring fingers orpawls adapted to detach- A the container and launch the main parachute.

lln a parachute launching device the combination of a container forreceiving the main parachute in a compactly folded and plaited conditiona support detachably connected to said container atrough shaped memberpnsaid support adapted to receive the auxiliary parachute also in acompactly foldedand plaited condition a cage on said support about whichthe folded and plaited main parachute is arranged when packed a 'centerpiece connections or tapes between said center piece and the mainparachute and the plate pertaining to the aforesaid support a member forthe connections or tapes pertaining to the auxiliary parachute and aconnection between said member and the ter piece..

5. ltn a parachute launchin device the combination of a container or themain parachute a support detachably connected to seid container, atrough shaped member on iet ` mesma said support for receiving theauxiliary parachute, a cage on said support a center V piece connectionsor tapes between said cen-v ter-piece and the main arachute and theaforesaid support a mein er for the connections or tapes pertaining tothe auxiliary parachute a connection between said mem'- ber and thecenter piece a readily rupturable connection between the aforesaidmember and the container and spring ngers or pawls on the `support forengaging with the' container.

